The ending of the film is that it was all the architect's nightmare. British film critic Denise Powell spoke highly of the film, pointing out that "a lot of the material in the film was written specifically for the film. It has a picture treatment that is rare in Britain and any other country"; "the whole film ends in one In a sense of insecurity that beautifully reflects the real horrors of the supernatural. There is no full explanation here, only a sense of irrational and undeserved horror of mystery."
Dead of Night evaluation action
2022-06-27 11:08
Extended Reading
-
[Sally's mother has shown up to drag her away to a party for her godfather Edwin]
Sally O'Hara: But, Mother, I can't! You see, this is Mr. Craig, and I'm one of the characters in his dream!
Mrs O'Hara: [shakes his hand briskly] Oh, how do you do? Such fun, charades! So, you do understand, don't you, and poor Edwin's so terribly sensitive. Now, come along!
Sally O'Hara: Mummy, you mustn't! You see, Mr. Craig's going to hit me - savagely!
Mrs O'Hara: Oh, well, I'm sure he can hit somebody else instead. Now, come along, dear!
-
Dr. van Straaten: [removes his eyeglasses] Ah. No doubt you thought it would be very amusing to watch my cherished disbeliefs being shattered.
Eliot Foley: [sarcastically] Mm, very clever of us, I must say. I wonder if we have any more surprises up our sleeves.
[the camera focuses on Dr. van Straaten's hands as he fiddles with his eyeglasses]
Walter Craig: That's it - your glasses!
Dr. van Straaten: What about my glasses?
Walter Craig: It's later on. We're having drinks. You break those glasses of yours, and then, quite suddenly, the room goes dark. And then, Foley, you say something, something about the death of a man I've never heard of. And that's where my dream becomes a nightmare. A nightmare of horror.
Joan Cortland: Horror? What sort of horror?
Walter Craig: I feel my will power draining away. I feel I'm in the grip of a force that's driving me towards something unspeakably evil.
Dr. van Straaten: It shows that you have some heavy weight on your conscience. Now, in my opinion...
Walter Craig: I'm no longer interested in your opinion, Doctor. You shook me at first, with your ingenious theories. I thought perhaps the whole thing was a delusion. But Mrs. Grainger's arrival has altered all that. I have been here before, in my dreams. For some reason, I was given foreknowledge of the future. Why? I don't know. I want to know! I must know!